Life's Tough
by Asian-Inkwell
Summary: Hiruma may seem like an easy going guy, but he's human and has got his own problems too. Dealing with split parents is tough but it didn't bother Hiruma that much until now. Things change as he finishes high school, goes off to college, and later moves to America. HirumaxMamori (On hiatus.)
1. Chapter One: Mysterious Phone Call

"Hurry up you slow chibis! One more lap!" Hiruma yelled at Sena, Monta, and Komosubi.

Mamori frowned at Hiruma as she handed him a towel.

"You don't have to be so hard on them. They've been practicing all day for the game against Shinryuji."

Hiruma blew a bubble then snapped it between his teeth.

"If I don't yell at them, they'll get lazy and we'll lose the game, got it stupid manager?"

Mamori huffed.

"Don't call me that..."

Hiruma flung his towel on his shoulder as he made his way over to clubhouse.

"Hiruma! We did so well today!" Kurita yelled cheerfully as he bounced beside Hiruma.

"Quiet down, porker. We still have a long way to go."

"But Hiruma..."

"Hiruma is right," Musashi stated as he joined their conversation. "We need to be a lot stronger before we can beat the Shinryuji."

"Musashi..." Kurita sighed.

"Hurry up and wash up, porker. You too, old man."

Musashi smiled slightly as he followed Hiruma and Kurita into the clubhouse. As they entered they could hear Doburko-sensei pointing out areas that the team needed to work on. A little while later everyone was heading toward their homes. Hiruma was the last one out of the clubhouse.

"Hey, Hiruma! How about joining me and Kurita for dinner?" Musashi called out.

"I'll pass. I have to stop and get food for Cerberus and Butaberus ."

"Doesn't Doburko-sensei looked after them?" Kurita asked.

"No, he's too busy with the team and with the old man drinking I wouldn't trust him with them," Hiruma replied.

"Well then, we will see you at school tomorrow," Musashi nodded at Hiruma and walked off with Kurita.

Hiruma watched them leave then turned and headed off to the nearest convenience store. After buying some food for Cerberus and Butaberus, he bought a pack of gum and a few bento boxes for himself. He hurried back to the clubhouse and went to the door.

"Crud! It's locked. Where'd those chibis put the key?"

Hiruma felt around the door for the hidden key.

"Stupid kids... That's the last time I'm letting them lock it."

Hiruma grumbled softly to himself as he stuffed the Cerberus and Butaaberus's food in a storage closet. He slammed the closet door shut and sauntered out of the clubhouse.

"I'll show those little punks how to lock this place..."

Hiruma locked the door and stuffed the key in his pocket. He gave the door a good kick then pulled out a piece of gum.

"Thank goodness that convenience store had suger-free gum this time."

Hiruma walked by Cerberus and gave him a scratch behind the ear.

"Give those chibis a good scare when the come in the mornin'."

Hiruma slowly made his way to his apartment. He had a few things on his mind. His fingers itched to pick up his cell.

_Not yet... Just wait a bit._

His fingers ignored his command and pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and swiftly dialed the number.

_I guess a little earlier won't hurt..._

Hiruma lifted the phone to his ear.

_Ring. Ring. _

"This is Youichi..."


	2. Chapter Two: Curious and Curiouser?

Hiruma fidgeted a little as he spoke softly into his phone.

"I have a big game against Shinryuji. You remember me telling you about them? Anyways, if you get the chance... come see Deimon's game."

Hiruma hit the end button and closed his phone.

_Off to eat, then work on some new plays for the team, then hit the sack._

Hiruma stuffed his phone in his pocket and hurried to his apartment. About ten minutes later, he had arrived and was making himself a quick dinner. Earlier he had tossed his groceries on the kitchen counter and tossed his dufflebag in his room. As he ate his dinner, he pulled out his laptop and started typing up schedules for the practices they had left before the game against Shinryuji.

_The monkey needs to work on those passses again. The stupid chibi needs to work on his stamina again. He's been slackin'. Don't need to worry about little porker since porker's takin' care of him. Ha-ha brothers need to work on that play._

Hiruma yawned and kept typing away, but soon his eyes began to droop and within seconds he was asleep.

The next day, Deimon was hard at work practicing for the big game.

"Hey Hiruma!" Musashi called out.

Hiruma threw a long pass to Monta and walked over to Musashi.

"What is it old man?"

Musashi's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"What were you doing last night in that alleyway? I saw you on my way home. I thought you would have been home before then..."

Hiruma walked over to the side benches and picked up his water bottle.

"Just makin' a phone call."

Musashi raised an eyebrow.

"With the manager?"

"Look here, old man! Who I call or when I call is none of your business! Just get back to practice. We need to get a whole lot better before the game!"

Musashi shrugged as Hiruma threw his water bottle down and headed back to throw passes to Monta. Maybe Musashi shouldn't have asked about the phone call, but still it had been bothering Musashi. Hiruma had a strange expression on his face when he was making the call. It wasn't a normal expression that Hiruma would have. Musashi shook his head. Maybe it was his imagination, well he had no time to dwell on that thought, like Hiruma said he needed to get back to practice.

After practice that day, Musashi stayed at the clubhouse to spy on Hiruma. Deep down he felt guilty about spying on his friend, but he couldn't help it. He was concerned about his friend's odd behavior. There was no way that Hiruma would ever tell him, so it was up to him to find out himself.

"Hey, old man."

Musashi jumped when he heard Hiruma's voice coming out of the clubhouse. Did he already know that he was here?

"I finished typing up a new list of plays. You better look over them and start doin' your job."

Musashi sighed in relief. Hiruma was just talking with Doburko-sensei.

"Grrrrrrr."

Musashi tensed and glanced down at his feet. He knew what he would find. Cerberus was growling up at him.

Musashi slowly squatted down beside the dog and spoke softly.

"Hey there, Cerberus. Please be quiet for me..."

"Grrrrrrr."

Musashi sighed. This was going to be an interesting time.


	3. Chapter Three: Things are Kinda Revealed

"Whoa! Musashi are you okay?"

"Dude! What happened to you?"

"Musashi-san! Are you all right?"

Musashi had heard those all day. He wasn't sure how he was going to face Hiruma after all this. Yesterday had been terrible. He tried to follow Hiruma but things went from bad to worse. First, Cerberus had given him a good bite and had chased him around for a good bit. Second, he had finally managed to follow Hiruma again only to bump into the middle of a gang fight that he was dragged into. Third, his truck broke down and the man at the shop was drunk and gave him a few good punches before finally sobering up and fixing up the truck. Yeah, following Hiruma wasn't a good idea. In the back of Musashi's head, he knew Hiruma probably figured out that he had been trying to follow him. Musashi sighed then winced. This was going to a very interesting day. Definitely more interesting then the day before.

"Hey, old man."

Musashi winced when he heard Hiruma's voice. He was in for it now. Although he had been good friends with Hiruma since middle school, he still was worried about Hiruma's temper.

"Hi... Hiruma..."

Musashi turned toward Hiruma and kept his black eye out of Hiruma's view.

"I heard from porker that you got into a fight last night."

"Yeah... something like that."

Musashi could sense from Hiruma's voice that he already knew everything that happened.

"Well, don't take it to hard on yourself. We wouldn't want you to injure yourself more and not be in the game."

Hiruma stuck his hands in his pockets then blew a bubble.

"And old man, if you just give Cerberus some beef jerky he won't bother you."

With that, Hiruma snapped the bubble with his teeth and sauntered off. Musashi smiled slightly. You never really knew how Hiruma was going to react even if you knew him for a long time. He felt very relieved that Hiruma hadn't chewed him out but then it kinda worried him. Normally Hiruma would chew you out if you tried to spy on him. Maybe it was just him. After practice he'd ask Kurita and Mamori if they noticed anything strange about Hiruma.

Later at practice...

"Slant!"

Monta dashed out and ran in a slanted line, obeying Hiruma's pass route. Mamori watched them and made notes of every new move they did.

"Hey, Mamori."

Mamori looked up from her clipboard.

"Oh Musashi-san. Do you need something?"

"Actually, I just have a question for you."

"A question?"

A small sweatdrop appeared on the side of Mamori's face. She had been busy with studying for some tests so she had slacked off on spying on Shinryuji. Hopefully, she would be able to answer Musashi-san's question.

"I was wondering... Have you noticed that Hiruma has been acting a little strange?"

Mamori blinked. That was that last question she thought she would hear from Musashi-san's lips.

"Um... no. I haven't. Hiruma-san has been acting like he usually does."

And as if to prove that point, Hiruma sent a downpour of bullets at Sena.

"Stupid chibi! You gotta run faster then that!"

Musashi smiled slightly.

"I guess it's just me."

After practice, Sena was cleaning his cleats when he heard a somewhat unfamiliar voice speaking softly. He cocked his head. It didn't sound like anyone on the team. Sena peeked into the other side of the clubhouse and gasped softly. The voice belonged to Hiruma-san of all people! Sena was shocked that Hiruma could even have such a soft nice sounding voice! He actually sounded well friendly and sweet. Sena hid behind the lockers as Hiruma walked close to the lockers. Sena breathed in deeply as he looked at Hiruma from the corner of his eye. He could tell that Hiruma was on the phone.

"Hey... Today's practice went well. I'm 100% certain that we'll win. So... I'll get tickets for you and reserve them in your name..."

Sena cocked his head again then took in another deep breath when Hiruma made a sudden movement toward the lockers.

"I gotta go... I'll call again."

Hiruma ended his call and left the clubhouse leaving a curious Sena.

_I wonder who Hiruma-san was talking to. His girlfriend?_

Sena shook his head. It couldn't be a girlfriend. First off, no girl in her right mind would go out with him. Second, if he did have a girlfriend, the whole school would be talking about it. It had to be someone else.

_His dad? But his dad lives in America... and from what Kurita and Musashi have said, Hiruma hates him. Who could it be?_


	4. Chapter Four: Hiruma's Mom?

It was the day after Deimon's victory and there seemed to be a buzz stirring in the air. A new rumor was going about. What could it be about? It was rather obvious. It had to be about a member of the football team. But which member? The Ha-ha brothers were gathered around their desks informing Sena of the rumor that was floating around.

"Last night... after our party... they said..."Jumonji said in a low voice.

"That he was seen..." Kuroki continued.

"With a beautiful girl!" Togano ended.

Sena's eyes widened in surprise as he coughed out,"A girl?"

The Ha-ha brothers nodded in unison.

"Are you sure?"

The "brothers" nodded again.

"Who is she?"

The "brothers" shrugged.

"No one knows," was Jumonji's reply.

"So we were thinking," Kuroki started.

"That you should ask him about the girl," Togano finished.

"ME?"

The "brothers" nodded a little smugly as Sena walked slowly out of the classroom.

"Why is it always me?" Sena mumbled as he made his way down the hall.

Sena sighed and quickened his pace a little. He glanced out the window to see if anyone was at the clubhouse when he collided into Musashi and Hiruma.

"Watch where you're going, shrimp."

"Hiruma-san!"

Sena bowed quickly and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Hiruma raised his eyebrow as he blew a bubble.

"Hiruma, as I was saying. There is this rumor going on about you."

Hiruma sucked the bubble in and chewed on his gum.

"And? I don't care what they say."

"Hiruma."

Sena looked up at Hiruma-san and Musashi-san nervously. Surely the Ha-ha brothers would understand if he slipped away and asked the question later.

"What? I freakin' don't care what they say about me."

"But I do! Hiruma, you are a close friend of mine and I do not like lies being spread about you. So tell me who that girl was that you were seen with last night. Your girl friend?"

Sena sighed softly in relief. Since Musashi asked the question, he didn't have to. He'd just tell the Ha-ha brothers the answer Hiruma-san gave Musashi-san.

"Ke ke ke. So what if she is my girlfriend?" Hiruma smirked.

"Then... I suppose I have nothing to worry about..."

Hiruma started walking off.

"That girl is a woman."

"A woman?" Musashi and Sena exclaimed.

Hiruma turned and gave them a crooked grin.

"Yeah."

Musashi and Sena turned bright red.

"Ke ke ke. She's my mom."

Musashi and Sena's jaws dropped as they watched Hiruma walked off. His answer was rather unexpected. After all, Hiruma never spoke of his mother before. He had mentioned his father once or twice in passing, but otherwise he never spoke of either of his parents. His teammates assumed that he didn't like either parent so it was rather shocking to hear that he was with his mom. Musashi recovered and set his mouth to a firm line. This must have been why Hiruma had been acting strangely the past few days. Sena looked up at Musashi.

"Um... Musashi-san?"

"Yes?"

"Did he really just say that he was with his mother?"

Musashi nodded.

"He really said it."

"Wow... This so... weird..."

Musashi nodded in agreement.

"There are soo many questions I will have to ask him later."

After practice that day, Hiruma was sitting on his sofa waiting. The night before he had finally seen his mom again after ten or so years. He bounced his knees impatiently. His mother was going to call him. He was nervous but excited that she was going to call him. She had told him last night that there were several things she wanted to talk to him about. What could it be? Hiruma closed his eyes and leaned his head back. While he waited, he would just think about what had happened last night.

It was getting very late. Hiruma yawned and gazed sleepily at his laptop. Yeah, it was really late.

_Huh? What's this?_

Hiruma pulled off a jacket that had been placed on him.

_Weird... I don't remember putting this on... Wait a sec... This is that stupid manager's jacket. What was she thinking?_

Hiruma huffed and tossed the jacket onto a nearby chair. He swiftly packed his laptop and yawned again. He used up a lot of energy during the game so he was going to take it easy the next day.

_Ooops... Almost forgot. Gotta make that phone call to Mom..._

Hiruma pulled out his cell phone as he slung his computer bag onto his shoulder.

_Today was kinda special... I guess it wouldn't hurt to call her cell... _

Hiruma slowly made his way out of the classroom as he dialed the number.

_Ring. Ring._

_ She's not gonna answer, stupid. _

_ "Hello?"_

Hiruma's heart jumped.

"H-h-hi..."

_"Youichi?"_

Hiruma put a hand on his chest and leaned against the door of the classroom.

"Mom?"

_"Youichi... You've grown so much. I was able to come to your game."_

_ Thump. Thump. Thump._

Hiruma gulped as he could hear his heart pounding.

"You actually came?"

_"I'm at the school right now."_

"At Deimon? Now?"

_"Yes."_

"Where?"

Hiruma's mother looked up at the school building then glanced around.

"I'm over by the clubhouses. I believe I'm at the front of the school."

_"Okay. I'll be there in a minute."_

_ Click._

Hiruma's mother smiled softly. She would finally see her son again. After about three minutes, she could hear footsteps coming from behind her. She turned quickly and looked up into her son's eyes.

"Hi, Mom."


	5. Chapter Five: Phone Call

"Youichi..."

Hiruma's mom smiled and a tear fell from her eye.

"It's been awhile, Mom..."

Hiruma leaned over and wiped the tear away from her face.

"Why are you in Japan? I thought you father moved to America."

Hiruma took a small step back and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Pffft. I ran away the day you two split. Dad was talking about moving to America and I didn't want to go."

"You live alone?"

Hiruma's mother looked concerned as Hiruma nodded.

"Yeah... been livin' in this apartment since the split. I know what you're wonderin'. I have plenty of money. Dad sends an allowance to my account every month."

"So you are still in contact with him?"

"More or less. He calls from time to time but I usually don't answer him."

"I see..."

Hiruma shifted a little. He hated talking about his father even more so with his mother.

"Do you want to go to my place? It's getting' a little chilly out here..."

Hiruma's mom smiled slightly then shook her head.

"I have to go home. I have a lot of work to catch up on."

"Oh..."

"I have something I need to tell you... I'll call you tomorrow evening."

Hiruma nodded as he watched his mother walk off into the darkness. As he watched her leave, he engraved her in his mind. He has forgotten what she looked like after he hit middle school. Now that he had finally seen her again, he wouldn't ever forget what she looked like. Her long brown hair was being gently tousled by the wind. Although she was wearing a simple red dress with red heels on her feet, Hiruma thought his mother looked extremely lovely. He refused to let her leave his mind. She disappeared into the darkness, but she was still there in Hiruma's eyes. He could see her silver blue eyes looking up at him with motherly love. She had sharp facial features that matched her character and not to mention the pointed ears that Hiruma inherited. He smiled slightly. His sharp observation skills and wit came from his mother. Although he'd rather not admit it, he knew his sharp tongue also came from his mother.

Hiruma bounced his knees and blew a bubble. He had replayed last night's scene several times and his mom still hadn't called. He was getting really impatient. No not really impatient _extremely _impatient.

_Ring! Ring!_

Hiruma snatched up the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Hey! Hiruma, this is Kurita!"_

_Crud! Why'd you have to call now, Kurita?_

"What do you want, porker?"

_"Musashi and I are going out to eat ramen! Would you like to join us?"_

Hiruma's stomach growled softly.

"No, I already ate," Hiruma lied.

_"Oh," Kurita replied sounding disappointed._

"I gotta go, porker. I have things to do."

_Click._

_ Ring! Ring!_

_ This better be her this time..._

"Hello?"

_"Youichi, I'm sorry that I did not call earlier."_

"You're fine... So what was it that you want to tell me?"

Hiruma bounced his knees again and tried to keep his voice from sounding too excited.

_"First, I need to ask you something."_

"What is it, Mom?" Hiruma snapped.

He winced when his voice snapped. It was difficult to not sound annoyed. He wanted her to get straight to the point.

_"Has your father sent you anything besides your allowance these past years?"_

Hiruma sighed softly in relief. His mom wasn't mad about him sounding annoyed, but then she never made comments when he was younger about sounding annoyed. Maybe he was being a bit oversensitive since it had been a long time since he had talked with his mother. Well beside their talk last night, it had been awhile since they last talked.

"He just sends an allowance. Why do you ask?"

_"Well... I had asked your father to give a few things to you... and to tell you a few things..."_

Hiruma frowned and gripped his phone tightly.

_Jerk._

_"Youichi, you have a little sister."_

Hiruma thought his heart stopped for a second. He licked his lips nervously.

"I have a what?"

_"A little sister... her name is Masumi."_

"A-a-a sister? Why was I never told?"

_"I'm sorry... I thought your father had told you."_

"That jerk!"

_STUPID! Knew you were a rat that would hide things from me even though I'm your son!_

Hiruma slammed his fist into his wall not caring about the dent he had made.

_"She can't wait to meet you... You know... she was the one who found your recordings on the phone..."_

Hiruma relaxed a little and moved his arm away from the wall.

"She recorded them? I thought they were deleted... I put a bug on it a long time ago to see why you never answered... Seems like people are always calling you and it fills up your voice mail and ends up deleting my calls..."

_"She recorded them every night once she figured out how to... I found her listening to them a few nights ago... That's why I was able to come to your game."_

Hiruma smiled slightly.

_She sounds like a mini version of you, Mom. Smart and cunning fox that you are, I hope she looks like you too._

"She look like you?"

His mother chuckled at the other end.

_"I knew you were going to ask that."_

_ A mother thing isn't it?_

_ "She does look a little like I did when I was her age."_

"How old's the kid?"

_"She just turned seven."_

"So you had her not long after the split..."

An awkward silence filled the air.

_"Would... you mind doing me a favor?"_

_ Random... Why would I mind?_

"What is it?"


	6. Chapter Six

Hiruma still had his mind on the favor his mother asked him days ago as he walked with his team into the football stadium. They had come to watch the game between the Seibu Wild Gunmen and the Misaki Wolves. As they sat down in the bleachers, Hiruma forced the favor to the back of his mind and focused on watching the game.

"Keeeeeya!" Monta yelled in his monkey like voice. "That running back has long legs!"

Hiruma narrowed his eyes as he blew a bubble. Taiga Kamiya was the running back that Monta was staring at. He claimed to be the fastest running back in Japan. Well, this game would prove whether it was a bluff or the truth.

"Riku!"

Hiruma glanced at Sena. Sena was gripping the bar in front of his bleacher tightly as he watched Riku step onto the field. Sena's heart pounded hard against his chest. He could feel the excitement of the game already.

"Go, Riku!"

To see his best friend playing on field again made his heart soar. He could not wait for the day they would face each other on the field. He glued his eyes onto his friend. Riku had to win this game or Seibu wouldn't face Deimon later in the Kantou Tournament.

Later on during the game, Riku seemed to be struggling against Kamiya. Sena frowned. Riku was faster then Kamiya! All Kamiya had was long legs and some speed. Riku had the Rodeo Drive! There was no way the Wolves could beat the Gunmen!

"Hey, stupid manager. Show me what you've got down so far."

Mamori turned bright red with anger as she walks over and sat beside Hiruma.

"How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that!"

Hiruma ignored her rant, took her clipboard out of her hands, and scanned through it. Mamori slowly cooled her anger as Hiruma flipped through the pages she had written. She flushed a little as she could hear Suzuna whispering behind her.

"Mamo-ne is in love!"

Musashi glanced at Hiruma and Mamori. Now that he thought about it, they did look cute together. Well... if a devil and an angel could look cute as a couple, that would describe Hiruma and Mamori perfectly. Musashi smiled slightly. It would be very interesting to see Hiruma and Mamori as parents, but then again maybe not so interesting. Hiruma's mind was far from matrimony so there was no point in asking Hiruma if he liked Mamori. Not like Hiruma would answer that question anyways, he'd probably say she was a crappy manager and he likes her only when she's a good manager or something like that. Musashi sighed. If Hiruma had a girlfriend, maybe he would settle down a bit.

"Here you go."

Hiruma handed the clipboard back to Mamori.

"Your drawing is terrible."

Mamori could almost feel smoke coming out of her ears.

"I tried my best!"

"Drawing isn't your thing. Next time just write the descriptions and leave the drawing to someone else."

Mamori was ready to give Hiruma what for but Suzuna was lurking behind her. Suzuna would probably start calling Mamori and Hiruma lovers again. Oh how Suzuna could get on Mamori's nerves at times! She would just have to hold her anger in for now. Later, she would yell at Hiruma as soon as Suzuna was gone.

Later, the game was over and Mamori was ready to give Hiruma her thoughts, but wait, he was already gone!

"Um... Mamo-ne? Are you all right? You are looking rather... red..."

Mamori ignored Sena and stomped out of the stadium. It was just like Hiruma to disappear when she wanted to talk to him. He was going to get it the next time she saw him!

Hiruma gazed around his living room. That should be good enough for now. He felt a little proud of himself as he gave the living room another look through. He had tidied his place up which was a rare thing for him to do but it was necessary for his plans that week.

_Now to start getting' some other things ready._

Hiruma plopped down on his couch and pulled out his cell and his devil's notebook. Yup, he had lovely little plans for this week.

Mamori was still mad. What made things worse was the fact that Hiruma kept slipping away as soon as practice was over! Mamori had tried to "bump" into Hiruma before practice but that hadn't worked. "Bumping" into him after practice should have worked! But strangely, Hiruma left earlier then he normally did, that made Mamori very displeased.

"Uh... Sena? Is Mamori-san okay?" Monta asked.

"I have no idea... She's been like this since after the Seibu vs. Misaki."

"But that game was last week!"

"I know... I guess Hiruma-san made her really mad..."

"That Hiruma-san! Makin' Mamori-san mad!"

Sena grabbed Monta and tried to hold him down to prevent him from wrecking the locker room.

"Let me at him, Sena! Hiruma-san shouldn't get away with makin' Mamori-san mad!"

Sena sighed and let go of Monta.

"Hiruma-san is already gone."

"Gone? Already? After him-max!"

Monta dashed out of the clubhouse as fast as he could. Sena glanced around the locker room and sighed. Monta had left before cleaning up his locker. Oh well, he might as well clean it up himself. It wasn't like Monta would come back and clean. At least he just had to clean up after Monta, it would be just awful if he had to clean up after everyone. Just the thought brought back bad memories. Sena shivered and quickly cleaned Monta's and his locker.

It was a rather peaceful night. Not many people were wandering around the streets of Tokyo. Musashi thought it was rather strange but thought nothing of it as he headed toward the convenience store. He smiled slightly as he passed by a small movie theatre. He remembered the times when he and Kurita would watch movies there. They had always invited Hiruma to join them but he would always say he was busy or the movie was stupid or some lame excuse like that. One day, he and Kurita would have to get Hiruma to watch a movie with them. Well, it was time to take his mind off memories and focus on what he was suppose to buy at the store. He hurried over to the store when something caught his eye. Was that who he thought it was coming out of the movie theatre? Musashi turned around to double check. His eyes widened in surprise as he watched Hiruma step out of the movie theatre. Musahi would have been mildly surprised if Hiruma came out of the theatre by himself, but no, Hiruma came out of the theatre with a little girl.

"Hiruma..."

Hiruma slightly raised an eyebrow as he looked at Musashi who was staring at him.

"Nii-san, do you know that man?" the girl asked as she looked up at Hiruma.

Hiruma nodded and walked up to Musashi.

"Hey, old man."

"Uh... hi, Hiruma."

Hiruma blew a bubble then snapped it with his teeth.

"This is Masumi... my little sister."

Musashi coughed hard.

"Masumi, this is Musashi."

Masumi nodded and smiled brightly up at Musashi.

"Hello, Musashi-san."

Musashi coughed again.

"Hiruma..."

Hiruma blew another bubble.

"Let's get something to eat."

Musashi blinked.

"Uh... okay..."

Musashi quietly walked beside Hiruma as he walked over to a nearby fast food restaurant. Hiruma picked out a booth for them and left Masumi with Musashi while he ordered their food. Fifteen minutes later, Hiruma and Musashi were eating burgers and some fries. Masumi was asleep with her head in lying in Hiruma's lap.

"I thought... you were an only child, Hiruma..."

Hiruma sipped some of his coke.

"So did I until after I talked with my mom."

"Why is she with you?"

Hiruma grabbed a few fries and chewed them slowly.

After swallowing he replied," My mom is on a business trip and couldn't take her. So she's stayin' with me this week."

Hiruma glanced down at Masumi and pushes a few stray hairs away from her face.

"So that is why you have been leaving early after practice..."

"Yeah... but don't you dare tell anyone, old man."

"But Hiruma..."

"Look here, old man," Hiruma growled," this is none of their business. This is my private life and I don't want anyone besides you to know about it! The only thing the others can know about is my jerk of a dad. I don't want my sister or mom to be connected with me. Got that?"

Musashi sighed and nodded.

"I understand."

Author's note: Whoo! Longest "chapter" I've written for this story. XD I'm working on typing out longer "chapters" for ya'll. :) Hope you enjoyed this "chapter"! Please review! All comments are welcome.


	7. Chapter Seven: Things are Gettin' Tough

"I understand... but Hiruma, why do you not want people to know you are related to your sister?"

"Divorce is a touchy subject, old man. I don't think my mom wants to be connected with my old man. After all, he took me and my mom got her. Our lives have to stay separate. Got that?"

Musashi nodded and drank some more of his coke. Hiruma finished his burger and fries in silence.

_I actually don't understand, Hiruma. I'll keep your secret for as long as I can, but I have a feeling one of these days this will come out whether you like it or not._

Practices were the same as usual. Hiruma yelling at everyone to do better and Cerberus chasing Monta or Sena. Doburko-sensei was helping the line men and Mamori was furiously writing notes from a game she had recorded. Musashi was practicing his long kicks.

_Hiruma is acting like nothing happened... Well it makes sense since he did say he wanted his life separate from his mother's, but still...shouldn't he act just a little differently?_

Musashi sighed and tried to focus on his kicks. Hiruma's sister had been on his mind a lot since the day he had met her. It had been several weeks ago that he had met her and she still was on his mind. He felt like Hiruma should just tell everyone about his sister but then Hiruma did have somewhat of a point.

_Ring! Ring!_

Hiruma pulled his cell phone out and answered it. Across the field from him, Mamori was frowning at him.

_What is he doing talking on the phone when he should be practicing like the others?_

Suddenly Hiruma's face paled, he slammed his phone shut and hurried to the clubhouse.

"Hiruma?" Mamori called out.

Hiruma didn't even glance back as his other teammates also called out after him. The expression on Hiruma's face worried Mamori. She had never seen him look so... worried? No, that wasn't quite it. Whatever his expression meant, she knew it meant something was terribly wrong.

A week had passed and Hiruma hadn't been very faithful to Deimon's practices. For as soon as classes were over, he would leave. He would come back later during the middle of practice and join in but left as soon as practice was finished. Mamori knew it had to do with that phone call the week before. She wanted to call and ask him what was going on but she had a feeling that she should wait for him to tell her.

"Mamori? Hello?"

Mamori blinked and looked up. She realized her class had been over for some time and Musashi was giving her a funny look.

"Oh, Musashi-san."

"Do you think Hiruma will be at practice?"

Mamori hesitated. Maybe she should talk to Musashi about her thoughts.

"I'm... not sure..."

No, Musashi probably had a lot to worry about himself. No need to bother him.

Hiruma panted heavily as he leaned against the wall. He had finally made it to the hospital.

"Onii-san!"

Hiruma looked down at his sister.

"Masumi..."

Masumi hugged Hiruma's leg tightly and looked up at him.

"Nii-san, I'm scared..."

Hiruma rubbed her back gently.

"Which room... is she in?"

Masumi shook a little as she replied,"She-she's in room 209."

Hiruma stroked his sister's head, trying to comfort her.

"She awake?"

Hiruma ran his hands through his spiky bleached hair. He'd been through tough situations, but this one was different. He felt so lost. No ideas or plans were forming in his mind. He'd never felt so... helpless?

_Ring. Ring._

Hiruma picked up his cell phone up and glanced at the caller ID.

_Kid._

Hiruma smiled slightly. Although he and Kid were on different teams, they had somewhat of a friendship.

_Wonder why he's calling._

"Hello?"

_"Hiruma?"_

"Hey, what do you want?"

Hiruma rested his phone on his shoulder and pulled out a pack of gum from his back pocket.

_"I heard from Riku that you've been missing some practices lately."_

Hiruma opened a piece of gum and stuffed it in his mouth.

_Stupid chibi probably told him._

"So what? I've got stuff I have to do. If that's all, I'm hanging up."

_"Heh, so this time you warn me instead of just doing it."_

"Ke ke ke. Gets you to tell me what you need to more quickly."

_"I see your point. But something is up with you. Have you talked to Musashi or Kurita?"_

"Not yet..."

_"You should talk to one of them. They want to help."_

"Look, I'll talk to them when I need to."

_Click._

_ That Kid. Musashi and Kurita don't need to know. I'll take care of everything... I've handled everything up 'til now and that's not going to change. I'll figure out something..._

Days seemed to roll by quickly as the Devil Bats continued to prepare for the Christmas Bowl. The game against the Hakushu Dinosaurs was fast approaching. But before that game, the team was going watch the Sado Golems vs. Oujo White Knights game. The game was going to be very interesting since the rumor was that Shin had completed his new tackle, the Trident Spear Tackle. Sena was, of course, excited and nervous about this game.

"Shin-san... You're getting better and better every day. I still have a long way to go," Sena said softly as he watched the Oujo White Knights step onto the field.

Hiruma narrowed his eyes. It annoyed him when Sena said things like that. To Hiruma, Sena was better than Shin, but it wasn't like Sena would understand that.

"Sena! Look out those Sadom Golems! They look huge!" Monta yelled.

Sena nodded and looked over at Oujo's opponent. The players on the Golems were strong looking but Sena was positive Oujo would win. After all, Shin was on Oujo. Oujo had to face Deimon in the Christmas Bowl so Sena could face Shin once again. Sena couldn't wait for the day he would face Shin again.

As the game started the team made comments about the Golems and the White Knights. They didn't know much about this team so it kinda worried some of them. Sena gripped the bar in front of him tightly. There was no way Oujo would lose to Sado. It just wasn't possible. Monta and Taki were making loud comments beside Sena about how strong the Golems looking. Sena set his lip into a firm line. Oujo was going to win. They had to win.

"Eya? Shin looks like he's gonna do something," Monta commented.

Sena leaned over the bar a little to watch what Shin was going to do. He had a feeling that Shin was finally going to reveal his new tackle. His heart thumped loudly in his ears as Shin started to run toward the Golems. He could see the Trident Spear Tackle starting to form as Shin ran across the field. Shin had to be a genius to create a new tackle using Riku's Rodeo Drive.

Sena stared at the empty field. He felt dazed after seeing Shin's Trident Spear Tackle. How would he ever be able to dodge that?

"Sena?"

Riku stood beside Sena.

"I'm sorry..."

Sena cocked his head and looked at his friend.

"For what?"

"For teaching Shin the Rodeo Drive."

Sena smiled slightly.

"He would have figured it out even if you didn't teach him."

Riku smiled slightly back.

"I suppose your right."

_Ring. Ring._

Riku and Sena glanced back at his teammates sitting behind him. Whose phone was ringing? And as if to answer the question, Hiruma picked up his phone and headed out of the stadium.

"Hello?"

Hiruma frowned and slapped his phone shut. Mamori blinked, slightly stunned at Hiruma's reaction. What was his problem?

"Hey, manager. Did you keep good notes on Oujo?"

Mamori rolled her eyes.

"I wrote everything they did down."

Hiruma glanced back at Mamori.

"Good."

Author's Note: It's been awhile. XD I hope you enjoy and please review!


	8. Important Notice

I am sorry to say that I might have lost all my documents for fanfiction due to an incident with my tablet pc. My tablet is fixable at the moment but all the documents will be gone. :( There is a chance to save them but I'm not positive. I do have a few of the fanfictions saved on my Toshiba laptop (that I have brought back to life after a year of unused after being replaced by my tablet pc...). So all is not lost. But I did want to let you guys know that several (technically most) of my stories will take awhile to update since I'll have to start from scratch. My sincere apologies. I'm pretty upset about this... Been crying a lot to be honest. *sighs* These things do happen. So...at the moment I'll probably be focusing on updating my newer fanfics and will most likely be posting new fanfics until I find out more about how things will work for my tablet pc and I get done with school this week and next week. Just check my profile for updates on that stuff. I hope things will clear up soon and that I'll be able to save those docs from my tablet pc. Until then, I'll be using my Toshiba. Thanks for reading! Please keep reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing my stories! It'll make me feel better and well it's always nice. ^^ Thanks again for your understanding.

EDIT: Great news! My tablet pc has been fixed and I have all my documents back. *SQUEE!* So I should be able to update a bunch of stuff really really soon. Thanks so much for all those encouraging notes and for understanding my situation. You guys are the best. :D

~Asian-Inkwell


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